top ten places to travel

I have been thinking about the places I want to visit and see someday (if not sooner). Most of them are a bit off the beaten path. In no particular order:

one.
Maldives: a series of atoll islands off the southeast coast of India.

two.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: I would like to climb the mountain before the glaciers are gone, please.

three.
Masdar City in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, United Arab Emirates: a small country packing a big global economic punch. Masdar seeks to be the first zero-carbon emissions city on earth.

four.
Croatia: said to be a beautiful country, yet-untouched by too many tourists, on the Adriatic Sea.

five.
Greece: who wouldn't want to see the history, the hillside of white villages, and the fantastic Mediterranean seascapes?

six.
Madagascar: An African island of oddities (unless you live there; then they are normal). I really want to see the Baobab trees!

seven.
Tierra del Fuego/Patagonia, Chile & Argentina: amazing mountains, glaciers, waterways, culture, and fauna all at the tip of the South American continent.

eight.
Taj Mahal, India. I would like my picture taken with it.

nine.
Cuba. Only because I can be Canadian and can go there freely.

ten.
Iceland. Extreme snow and ice, with hotsprings, waterfalls, volcanoes, and fantastic local culture.

back to bellingham

I arrived in Bellingham on Wednesday, late afternoon. On Tuesday, I had arranged to meet with my high school friend, Andrea, in Vancouver for lunch and we had a lovely time getting reacquainted and talking through life's events since high school. She is an amazingly vibrant woman and I'm glad we were able to spend a couple hours together!

I had hoped to meet another friend in Tacoma, but, due to illness, canceled that and drove out to Shelton, Washington to have dinner with Rich, one of the Air Force crew who flew on my deployment flight last year to Antarctica. It is strange to reconnect with people from The Ice, but usually a lot of fun; and this was no exception.

From there I drove to Seattle, in a massive rain and windstorm (in three places, I could see that trees had fallen across the freeway only minutes or hours before). Sara played hostess for the evening and I slept at her apartment.

In the morning, I met up with Susan, another friend from high school who is home from studying in Switzerland. She and I have a great relationship and could probably talk for days.

Here's my trip by the numbers. I drove 2565 miles total; 1102 down, 1463 back. I was gone 3 weeks, or 21 days, visiting 3 states in that time, and stopping at 7 gas stations. I celebrated 2 holidays with 2 different kinds of my "family." I sat in 1 interstate closure for a 6 semi, 23 car pileup. I saw at least 15 elephant seals and picked up 1 new Starbucks mug for my collection (Portland). I returned to 26 Christmas cards in the mail. And, I drank lots of coffee.

friends and waterfalls

On my last day in Oregon, we decided to trek out to Multnomah Falls. The weather turned quite rainy, but it's a waterfall; so you're bound to get wet anyway, right? Due to the heavy amounts of melting snow and rain, plenty of waterfalls were cascading down rock faces on their way to the Columbia River. I am continually impressed at how much water escapes from the hills; it seems like it should run out.

I hadn't visited this falls for quite awhile and while it looks pretty much the same as I remember it, I really like rediscovering things with an adult mind. As a kid, I seemed to miss the significance of places I visited or things I saw. Now is a better time to remember and recreate thoughts about places.

In the evening, I was able to get together with a friend, Laura, who I went to kindergarten with. She has a family with three boys and lives in Beaverton. Our time spent together was filled with warm conversation and stories about the unusual paths that God has lead us on and how he has developed our lives to be where they are right now.

The next morning, I packed up and was on the road again.

an extended visit

On the way back to Washington, I spent a week in the Portland area to visit friends. My family has known the Leep family from well before I was a thought. In addition to spending a lot of time resting and enjoying the New Year, I gratefully took advantage of getting to know them a bit better again!

Some of the highlights with them were watching Uncle Carl, unsuccessfully roast chestnuts over an open fire, shopping (only a little bit) and going out for coffee several times; once at their family-favorite shop called Long Bottom, cracking open fresh crab and eating it with bread and butter, and sleeping in.

I found this week's stay to be just what I needed for some rest and relaxation!

heading in a northernish direction

Entirely unmotivated to drive for seven to eight hours, I finally got in the car and headed in the direction of Portland. I took awhile to get going since I had to get gas. I accidentally found the Sundial Bridge in Redding, so I figured I should get out and snap a photo of that. The park was quite lovely and the weather was absolutely stunning! I was very reluctant to leave that California sunshine behind!

One of the highlights of the northerly drive was the view of Mount Shasta. For a few hours, I had this volcano in my sights and caught a couple photos of it on my way. I wished I would have taken a photo of Castle Crags as the sun was glowing and casting shadows on the rock face; simply gorgeous!

another stop

I arranged to meet my friends, Storey and Austin, again, in Chico on the way back north. I had a fantastic time catching up with them both. I made my lime hamburgers for them over football and conversations about Antarctica.

Storey took me on a tour of the town. We walked around the park (I loved how still the water was in this retention pool), ran some errands, and had tacos with his amazing salsa for dinner. It wasn't quite like Australia, where we last toured around together, but still fun to get out and do something for an afternoon with a friend! I am glad I stopped through on my way back.

mostly sunny san francisco

After a gorgeous morning of driving right on the coast, I spent the next hour traveling through Monterrey and up toward San Francisco. I had never been there before, and had originally intended to camp a couple extra nights up the coast, but after the freeze, decided to hurry my trip along so I would not have to be cold for another December night.

I also figured that San Francisco is probably a city best seen with the company of other people, so determined to only stop at the Golden Gate Bridge. The structure is a very pretty sight to behold. I encountered it on a partially sunny day, found a parking spot with time still left on the meter, whipped through their gift shop for a couple postcards, took a short walk to have some foreign tourists take my snapshot on a couple of occasions, called my sister to say hello from The Bridge, and hopped back in my car to be on my merry way.

So, I got my view of the Golden Gate, and my free northbound trip across this bridge. I took in Alcatraz in the hazy distance; leaving it, a trolley car ride, and a visit to Ghirardelli Chocolate on the Wharf as places of exploration for a subsequent journey through the city (perhaps between the warmer camping months of April through October).

pacific highway sort of sunday

Sunday morning I woke up frozen and early to explore the Pacific Coastline in Highway 1 between San Simeon and San Francisco. I made plans to be back in Chico, California in time for supper, so I had a lose time frame to work with.

By 7:30am, I was packed up and on the road. My main objective of the morning was to find elephant seals. It is early to spot them, but I had heard a few tourist talking about them. I stopped at one particular view point along the road and was certainly not disappointed. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear their guttural sounds from above the beach. Immediately, I saw two playing or fighting in the water and then walked a long a boardwalk where the the beach was busy with the loafing large seals and some regular seals, too.

Most of my drive I took in the scenery from the car. Highway 1 is full of twists and turns that rarely allow anyone to drive the posted 55mph. Despite the slow going toward San Francisco, I was simply delighted to take in the ocean scenes! It was a great Sunday morning for worshiping God on a sunny ocean coast road!

cold coastline

After a quick stop to see Dan and Karen, I spent a couple extra hours driving toward the Pacific Ocean. The sun was out and the weather was predicted to stay moderately warm; considering it is December. So, I quickly found the San Simeon State campground I intended to stay at north of Cambria, pitched my tent and went off to enjoy the last few hours of daylight.

Cambria is near the famous Hearst Castle. I have seen television documentaries on this mansion, and my mom had talked about it once or twice when I was younger, so I drove up to the visitor's center and nosed around a bit. The tours were booked up for the evening, so I did not get to visit the actual castle, or see the zebras still roaming the grounds, but I did enjoy the view.

I drove from there to numerous view points on the beaches; watching the sun fall into the Pacific Ocean and talking with a few folks on the way about what they had done on their travels. At one point, I got pulled over by a policeman for going 73 in a 55mph zone. I told him I was watching the sunset and not paying attention to my speed, so after he did a background check and made me promise not to drive so fast and use their pullouts to look at the sunset, he let me off. I drove slowly after that!

In Cambria, I found a grocery store and picked up a couple items to cook for supper. Upon returning to the campground, I couldn't start my stove. I had a fuel leak. I learned out to disassemble my MSR Whisperlite in Antarctica though as part of our Happy Camper, or Snow School course. So, I took the entire works apart, didn't find anything wrong with it, and put it all back together again. It worked then.

I was awfully cold when I crawled into my sleeping bag, but the weather forecast predicted low, 40F degree temperatures. When I woke up the next morning, though, I new why my toes were numb. I had a solid layer of frost on the outside of my tent and frozen condensation on the inside. This wasn't nearly as cold as Laura's overnight at the South Pole, but certainly a bit chilly for someone who was not expecting to freeze!

fun friends

Shortly after Christmas, I realized I had a friend from Antarctica within a half hour drive. It turned out that his place was right on the way to the California Coast. So, on my way out of Visalia, I drove through Lemoore, California and stopped in to see Dan and his girlfriend, Karen.

I know Dan from Antarctica and he was a better friend with my sister. It was fun to catch up with him for the better part of an hour and talk about where we've been and where we hope to go. Dan is currently on his parent's farm until he can figure out the next best adventure job to head off for. I left him with a few of the oranges from my 22 pound box, too.

my holiday

I had a good Christmas. It was the first such holiday that I celebrated with family in two years. Along with all the trimmings, I got to be part of all the tradition, too.

Mark and Annette hosted a Christmas Eve party after church on the 24th. I helped a little bit with the hors d'oeuvres. The event turned out to be a fantastic little party complete with a garage-turned-living-room set up for extra seating. There was no lack of excitement when Annette's sister, Laura, and her family showed up to be part of the festivities from Idaho!

Not to be forgotten is the boterkoek (Dutch butter cake). I can't turn down anything with almond paste in it and this stuff is no exception! Annette and I made 6 cakes with her mom in preparation for Christmas. I even got one to take back with me!

Christmas day I participated in Annette's family party. They were gracious to have me along for their present opening extravaganza (see one of the boys studying his gift in this photo), Christmas dinner lunch and amazing olie bollen (a terrific Dutch treat) later in the day. Meeting new people and seeing their family celebrate was really fun! And, of course, I had a blast hanging out with Mark, Annette, and their three boys, too!

the rest of the story

I left Portland around 11:40am and headed south again. I hoped to ditch the snow around Salem, but the white weather lined the roadways all the way through Northern California; until I arrived about 30 miles north of Redding. Over the pass in the Siskiyou Mountains, I was required to carry chains for my tires, so I spent a few bucks in Ashland, Oregon on chains that I can return. I never even came close to needing them. I spent 8.5 hours in the car on a mostly wet interstate.

I have friends in Chico, California where I spent my night. I had a good time hanging out with Storey and Jayden for the evening. The next morning, I was on the road again toward Visalia, California. Although, it was my shortest day and the roads were in much better condition, I was tired and glad to arrive at my destination.

I have had a great time so far with my cousins, Mark and Annette, and their three boys. We have made all sorts of Christmas goodies and I have had fun playing with the boys. I have learned more about Thomas the Train this trip than I thought I would be familiar with! And, I'm much warmer than I would be if I had stayed in Washington!

snow-magedon

I had the unique experience of driving down Interstate 5 during what was being defined as the worst snowstorm since 1990. One radio show host called it "Snowmagedon." I thought through this statement and realized that I had lived that snowstorm in 6th grade. This was the day that about 10 of us from school were stuck at the mall because there was too much snow in too short a time and the roads were completely clogged; until 9pm. The vendors in the mall gave us free food: We received tacos from Taco Tinas and Cinnabons, too!

In any case, I forgot how gorgeous so much fresh snow can look over evergreen trees (my photo on the fly does not do it justice). For those of you familiar with northwest Washington, when I drove through the hills by Sammish Lake and Alger, I wanted to stop and snap a bunch of pictures, but these ended up being snapshots in my memory.

Only one stretch of road yielded complete snow and ice and that was early on in my journey by the Stillaguamish River. The rest of the way I had at least tracks of black pavement to follow.

South of Olympia, I-5 was actually closed for a few hours due to a six semi, 23 car pileup. I sat at a standstill for just over an hour before the road reopened. Up near the crash site, people had actually built snowmen on the side of the road, and one was actually sculptured to be a dog, or a bear.

Typically a 4.5 hour trip, I arrived in 7.5 with only one stop on the way for coffee, some snacks, and a tank of gas.

During my one trip, I got out my super-duper midwestern snow brush and ice scraper combo. I actually heard someone say, "That's cool! Look what she is doing!" I had to laugh. They must sell snow brushes in Washington!

s- no -w plans

In the last two days I have been busy making plans for a road trip to visit my cousins for Christmas. I have lined up a few friends to see on the way and diligently scheduled and made sure each date and time fit on my structured trip agenda.

Today, my plans were put off. We got snow. More snow on already slick roads. In Western Washington this is a difficult situation because the region is not equipped to deal with the one or two snow storms that come a year, and there are many more hills to consider when getting around (Check out this news article for the details). And, my front wheel drive Honda cannot compensate for the weather as well as our four wheel drive retrofitted vans in Antarctica!

In any case, my trip is delayed for at least a day; although, we are supposed to be prepared for the flakes to keep falling through tomorrow afternoon.

So much for plans.

staying with sara

I stopped off in Seattle to spend a couple days with Sara again. I have been doing quite a bit of walking around the city and today was no exceptions. We intended to only visit R.E.I. so she could get a water bottle, but then we ended up getting coffee, walking toward the waterfront, and Pike Place Market, and Ivars for clam chowder.

Since we were down there and we saw the ferries floating in and out of the pier, we figured we could walk on a ferry, so we had one of the most fascinating rides I have ever had into the fog on the ferry. The sun was also disappearing, so we felt quite strange traveling through the thick fog on the water as the evening turned a faded blue to black.

We caught the Seattle to Bainbridge Island Ferry. On the other end we had to get off and walk back on for the forty minute ride back. Even at night, the city lights did not beat the fog that was looming over the tall buildings.

The whole city is still engulfed in clouds, but not rain.

a relative celebration

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time to spend with some of my relatives and celebrate all we have to be thankful for. My relatives gathered on the eastern side of Washington and enjoyed our time out on the dairy.

My cousin, Brad, provided some hay rides which were particularly fun for the five kids running around; but you'll notice there are some great smiles on the adult faces here, too!

I was hoping to milk a cow, but the closest I came was walking by their pasture while I took a little tour of the farm. There were no cows ready to be milked, so I'll have to save that for another time!

One thing that the kids will probably remember about this Thanksgiving was the pumpkin smashing. Since it's about that time of year when pumpkins start rotting and smelling, and when the evergreens replace the harvest theme, we had to get rid of the pumpkins decorating the house. So, on the day after Thanksgiving, we all went outside, and tried all measures of throwing, catapulting, and slinging pumpkins to crack them open. Then the kids went after them with a hoe, or their foot to destroy what was left. I enjoyed the process and found it rather humorous.

I drove from Eastern Washington to Seattle on Saturday. On the way towards the Cascade Mountains, I had fantastic sunny weather, along with another ding in my windshield, too. It didn't take long for me to find some clouds again, as well. By the time I reached Snoqualmie Pass, my car was drenched.

my cherry pie

Over the past couple days, I have been making a few "flexible" plans for the next month, hoping to hear back from a few jobs I have applied for (no luck yet), and hopping over the mountains to my cousin's house for Thanksgiving.

On Tuesday, I was able to meet my friend, Kelsey, for coffee (I borrowed this image from her blog). We are high school friends and have recently caught up with each other in some similar life circumstances. I was really glad I could talk with her in person before she heads off to start work in Greece. We celebrated a lot of things, and reflected on both the good things and the disheartening things that have happened since graduation. I am so thankful that I can reconnect with people like Kelsey to see how God works in our lives. I was encouraged by our time together and hope to keep in touch with her and see how her ministry goes in Athens beginning next month.

After coffee in Bellevue, I drove to Sunnyside, Washington to spend the week with my cousins and their children. I was able to go to their son's Thanksgiving chapel and Pilgrim and Indian feast. I love the paper costumes and remember donning my own paper pilgrim hat and white paper collar when I was his age!

I also made my first cherry pie. In fact, this was the first pie crust I made from scratch. I have some improvements to make for next time, but since my cousin Brad and I don't like pumpkin or pecan pie much, this should be a great substitute!

Happy Thanksgiving. We have much to celebrate by simply being alive!

some thoughts

I never did find my Brazilian coffee beans to bring back; it seems that they ship most of their premium crops out of the country (it's a huge export), and while the coffee shops do a good job serving their cafe, it's difficult to find the whole beans. I came back with far fewer souvenirs for my family and friends than I had intended and I never got the sticker for my water bottle. I did, however have a fantastic trip to reclaim some of my independence, and find some brand new amazing stories to tell. I learned to speak my language much more clearly and slowly, and to travel respectfully in someone else's land.

I also took home a very important understanding of prayer. I prayed for a lot of little, and sometimes inconsequential things while I was there. Some were for safety, some for finding a hotel room, some for getting tickets, or arriving on time, or finding my way somewhere, or communicating with someone, or being able to find a cash machine, or internet access. The list of little prayers whispered up to God goes on and on.

In each of these prayers God answered me. He provided every step of the way. He allowed me to find an adventure around nearly every corner. Sometimes he answered them right away and sometimes he let me sweat it out. Still other times he rerouted my plans and made my experience much more meaningful.

I feel like part of the reason I went on this trip was so that I could apply these little traveling mercies to my bigger journey of finding a new place and job. He certainly hasn't answered my prayers immediately and has me anxious and downright frustrated at times. But, he is still there. He's got something planned, and it will be by God's grace that I find a job when his timing is right.

I pulled out some old cards and letters today and found a brilliant card from my friend, Erin. The first year I went to Antarctica, she sent me this great expression of what I had done with my life. I went from a structured and organized life in the Chicago area to a new colorful adventure in Antarctica (and beyond). I pulled it out at exactly the right time; it was a super reminder that I have been able to color my life with a wealth of experiences in places and with people I never would have encountered had I stayed in Illinois. It makes this time of waiting in life much more palatable. I would not change the way anything has come to pass.

o regresso

My return to the United States was mostly uneventful. My flights were alright. I probably slept more on my Sao Paulo to Dallas trip than I ever have before. Customs and immigration went smoother than silk. I had a short amount of time for a layover, but I picked up a bite to eat and some coffee.

I noted I was back in The States by the crabby unhelpful Americans. I find it quite sad, but smile to hope their day might improve by it.

On my flight from Dallas to Seattle, I joined a number of US Armed Forces flying home from Afghanistan and Iraq. That was a prideful American moment when, at the end of the flight, they were recognized and allowed to disembark the aircraft first to cheers from everyone else. There are certainly a number of stories I heard from these men as they looked forward to spending time with their families and friends!

I was also on the right side of the plane to have a spectacular view of Mount Rainier flying into Washington. We flew to the East and North of the mountain on a stunning day in the Pacific Northwest.

Sara picked me up from the airport and we had a nice soup lunch together before she went to work. Then I stopped in Seattle to see Matt for coffee since he was in town to finish his fish research from the summer and a high school reunion. Finally, I stopped to see Dave and Chelsea in the same neighborhood before driving north back to Bellingham. For a trip up I-5, I couldn't ask for a nicer, more beautiful evening.

I am glad to be back in a land where I can understand people and they understand me, but really sad to leave the adventure, the rest, and the trip behind! I had a fantastic time exploring, learning, seeing, and participating in life in Brazil; likely one of the best vacations ever.

I've returned.

the last day

Friday rolled around and I packed up my bags one last time. My flight was at 11:50pm, so I had a day to spend in the city yet.

I called Shaun and met up with him late in the morning and we made plans to visit the Centro area of the city. This is where much of the original architecture remains and also holds the financial district of the city.

We took the Metra to Se. When we walked out of the station we found ourselves right smack in the middle of things. Looking up was the towers of Catedral da Se. This 1920's church was constructed in place of one standing from the 1800's. I think it would have been more fascinating to see the original, but, this building is quite impressive all the same.

Shaun and I walked through quietly and observed the greatness of the building; noting how disappointing it is that the awe-inspiring feelings we had often become common place within these bricks when you visit them daily, or weekly. The focus is then less on looking up towards God, but more on one's self, the function or routine of going to church, and the small busy things that life distracts us with.

Shaun also noted some colors on the pillars inside the cathedral. I snapped a few photos of these stained glass reflections. There is something very unique and wonderful about being in such a well-structured, deliberately-constructed place. I'm sorry that our culture has lost this sort of fantastic architecture for buildings that can be slapped together in a shorter amount of time.

We also toured through Sao Paulo's "wall street." This area only has pedestrian streets throughout. We also visited a lovely art museum and tried to interpret what we saw. Eventually we found ourselves back at the Metra and back on Paulista for a good-bye.

On my way back to the hotel, I snapped a photo of the colorful tiles that I walked by all week. These colors represented what I thought of Brazil. Very vibrant and colorful!

My trip to the airport was also a bit of an adventure. I started out with early intentions, and am quite glad that I did. First I had to withdraw a little extra money to purchase a bus ticket. Since my bank had been bought out on Friday morning, none of the international banks wanted to take my card. I even went in to speak with someone and could not get cash out of my debit account. Finally, after a last ditch effort to walk up the street to the only American bank I had seen, I forked out a $5 ATM charge and was able to get a little cash.

At the hotel, the airport shuttle was to drive right past and pick me up on its' loop around the city. However, due to traffic, the bus avoided Augusta altogether and left me hanging. The gentlemen at the hotel were kind to speak with. They gave me a coffee and kept me well-entertained while I sat there for the two hours. Only one man spoke English and told me that everyone at the hotel like my smile.

At the end of this time, all four men who had been keeping an eye out for the bus came out to get me in a taxi. I was to go to the bus station at Repulica and catch the bus there. When I arrived, Djerson, the receptionist had called the station to make sure I arrived alright. That was certainly nice!

I ended up catching another taxi with two other folks on the way to the airport as the bus was running late due to Friday traffic and the price was nearly the same if we split the taxi. It was a relief to be at the airport and have some time to collect my thoughts before flying north again!